Dr. Lenay Dunn is a Senior Research Associate at WestEd where she conducts applied research and provides technical assistance on systemic reform and improvement. She has over a decade of experience studying education reform initiatives. Dr. Dunn entered the education field as a teacher; after teaching she spent several years leading programs to sup¬port effective learning environments and opportunities for low-income students and under-resourced schools.

Dr. Carlas McCauley leads the national Center on School Turnaround at WestEd—a federally funded center to increase the capacity of state education agencies to support districts and schools in turning around their lowest performing schools. He previously served in the Office of School Turnaround in the U.S. Department of Education and as a Project Director for the National Association of State Boards. Dr. McCauley is nationally recognized for his work developing, supporting, and monitoring SIG and other education improvement initiatives.

Dr. Sam Redding is an Executive Director of the Academic Development Institute (ADI) and Associate Director of the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd. He is a research associate with the Center on Innovations in Learning and the Building State Capacity and Productivity Center. A former high school teacher and college dean, since 1984 he has served as the Executive Director of the ADI, and from 2005 to 2012 was director of the Center on Innovation & Improvement.